The Bulls’ loss, coupled with the Pacers’ win at Phoenix later that night lowered Indiana’s magic number for winning the Central Division to three. The Pacers have not won the division since the 2003-04 season.

Vogel puts the standings on the board before every team meeting. Players often have games on TV after their games.

“We talk about how well everybody is playing, for sure,” Vogel said. “We’ve talked to them about it almost every day for the last few days.”